PROJECTSUMMARY TheAffordableCareAct(ACA)transitionedtheUnitedStatesawayfromavoluntaryhealthinsurancesystem toauniversalparticipationschemeprimarilythroughtheuseofanindividualmandate,whichrequiresall Americanstoobtainsomeformofhealthinsurancecoverageorfaceapenalty.Bymandatingamoreinclusive system,theindividualmandateisabletoraisesocialwelfarethroughloweringtheoverallcostofaccessing healthcareservices.Ontheotherhand,aninvoluntaryinsuranceschemecancompromisetheeconomic securityofhouseholds,asthelackofcomplementarypolicieswithintheACAforcessomehouseholdsto financeasignificantpartoftheirhealthinsurancepremiums.ThisnegativeincometransferfromtheACAcan constrainhouseholdbudgetstothepointwheretheycurtailutilizationofnecessities,whichcanleadtothe adoptionofadversehealthbehaviorsthatcancausenegativehealthoutcomes.Moreover,asminority householdsaremostlikelytobelivinginornearpoverty,theyaredisproportionallyaffectedmorethanother groups.Thisisaparticularlytroublingresult,astheACA?sindividualmandateraisessocialwelfareatthe expenseofindividualwelfarewithoutaclearmechanismtocompensateforthisloss. Onewaytoaddressthisissueisforhouseholdstoseektransferpaymentsfromthegovernmentthatwillhelp limittheirlossestohealthandmedicalrelateddebts.Governmentsareidealtoengagewith,astheyissueone- waytransfersthatarenotrequiredtopayback.Ingeneral,householdscansolicittransfersfromthe governmentusingthetaxsystem(i.e.,claimingmedicaldeductions)orbankruptcytorescheduleordischarge medicaldebts.Suchfinancialtoolshavethepotentialofnotonlymitigatingwelfarelossesfromnegative incometransfers,butalsoallowforreinvestmentintoahousehold?shealthandwellbeing.Theresearch containedwithinthisproposalinvestigatestwomainaims.Thefirstresearchaiminvestigatestheimpactof incometransfersgeneratedbytheACAonhouseholdfinancialdecision-making.Themainanalysisinthisaim utilizesdifference-in-differencemodelstoexaminetheimpactsofbothpositiveandnegativeincometransfers onahousehold?spropensitytoitemizedeductionsordeclarebankruptcy.Thesecondaimexaminesthe impactoffinancialdecision-makingonhealthoutcomes.Logisticregressionandmultinomialregressionare bothutilizedtoexaminehowthemorbidityofdiseaseandappropriatelevelsofutilizationareimpactedby itemizationandbankruptcydecisions.